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btoy

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I think many of you are familiar with how I feel about County Square and its potential for redevelopment. Below is a quote from the Feb. 7th County Council Min. regarding the Drive using their parking lot.

Mr. Dill stated Council has known for a long time there was not enough parking in this area for a ball field. He stated events at the Peace Center, Bi-Lo Center, and local Churches would cause major parking problems in the downtown area. Mr. Dill felt the County should seriously look at moving the County Square facility to somewhere else in the County.

whole document can be seen here click me!

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I think it will happen eventually.

After Bell Tower Mall died and the whole area was blighted, the county probably bought the mall at a really cheap price (I think in the late 1980s- 1986?) and county government is located there probably for that reason. But as the area picks up steam, surely property values will rise and it won't make economic sense to have cheap non-taxed office space there.

I think the site would be great for a Target and a Home Depot, oddly enough, like Charlotte's redevelopment of Midtown Square, a dead mall right next to downtown, like Bell Tower Mall.

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I think it will happen eventually.

After Bell Tower Mall died and the whole area was blighted, the county probably bought the mall at a really cheap price (I think in the late 1980s- 1986?) and county government is located there probably for that reason. But as the area picks up steam, surely property values will rise and it won't make economic sense to have cheap non-taxed office space there.

I think the site would be great for a Target and a Home Depot, oddly enough, like Charlotte's redevelopment of Midtown Square, a dead mall right next to downtown, like Bell Tower Mall.

Only if these Target and Home Depot spaces were on the first floor of a development like Riverplace.

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I think it will happen eventually.

After Bell Tower Mall died and the whole area was blighted, the county probably bought the mall at a really cheap price (I think in the late 1980s- 1986?) and county government is located there probably for that reason. But as the area picks up steam, surely property values will rise and it won't make economic sense to have cheap non-taxed office space there.

I think the site would be great for a Target and a Home Depot, oddly enough, like Charlotte's redevelopment of Midtown Square, a dead mall right next to downtown, like Bell Tower Mall.

There was a lot of talk about this a few years ago during the sale of the Expo Center...ie. County would move there, and city would build a new convention center downtown at old County Square. There was never enough money to make it happen though.

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There was a lot of talk about this a few years ago during the sale of the Expo Center...ie. County would move there, and city would build a new convention center downtown at old County Square. There was never enough money to make it happen though.

WOW. I never knew where the convention center was going to go if it was going DT. There is a certain logic to this. Oh well. That's for posting.

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I agree with the above post re: a Riverplace-style development. Probably there would be more of a need for residential at the site rather than class A office space due to the short distance to the CBD, but both would probably do fine. Retail is really needed there, too; McAlister Square and Bell Tower Mall used to serve in-town neighborhoods but are both gone.

Odd that Bell Tower Mall was perhaps 40 years before its time, being built just as downtown was sinking.

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The negative side of having County government offices relocate to a tower downtown, is that they might not build an attractive one. I would love to see such a thing, but only if the City imposes guidelines to ensure an attractive exterior architectural design. Yes, it would be an impressive tower, that is unquestionable. :shades:

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The negative side of having County government offices relocate to a tower downtown, is that they might not build an attractive one. I would love to see such a thing, but only if the City imposes guidelines to ensure an attractive exterior architectural design. Yes, it would be an impressive tower, that is unquestionable. :shades:

HAHA! You're right, the COUNTY would build something ugly, just because :rofl:

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Although I would rather not see this happen, there is plenty of room in the Crescent Center at The Point. I would definitely prefer the County offices be located in downtown, especially considering the fact that they bring people here who otherwise may not realize the need to visit.

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The negative side of having County government offices relocate to a tower downtown, is that they might not build an attractive one. I would love to see such a thing, but only if the City imposes guidelines to ensure an attractive exterior architectural design. Yes, it would be an impressive tower, that is unquestionable. :shades:

The county should build new offices in the vacant lots going out Washington, toward the post office / train station. Could really help that area!

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With county square, I evision a linear development, like RiverPlace, but again, multi-story. Being at the top of the ridge, developers could get away with something along the lines of a 8-12 story tower, up to 2 of them, then have urban retail, such as Target and Home Depot / Expo. This development would also be a great place for a Borders Books, along with a Kinkos. With the news that BiLo is moving in caddy corner to Cnty Sq, I don't forsee the need for another grocer in the area.

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What type of development is Bi-Lo moving into- a strip center or a freestanding store?

That's now a lot of grocery stores within about a mile and a half radius from there.

And odd that Bell Tower Mall had 2 grocery stores right next to each other, right across from the movie theater- a Winn-Dixie and something else.

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I like your vision, jarvisj3! That would be very nice to see on the vista overlooking the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, Falls Park, and downtown to the north. I would especially love to see strict architectural guidelines to set it apart from its current surroundings and elevate the level of quality other investors implement in the future. :shades:

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